Brea Makes It Five in a Row : Division II-AA girls: Ladycats win big, 75-39, over Cerritos Gahr for their sixth championship in eight years.

Two months ago, Brea-Olinda Coach Mark Trakh figured his team would have to go through Cerritos Gahr to win a Southern Section girls’ basketball title.

Saturday at Loyola Marymount’s Gersten Pavilion, the Ladycats went through in a big way, scoring a 75-39 Division II-AA victory for their fifth consecutive section championship and sixth in eight years.

Trakh was so confident Brea-Olinda (28-2) would face Gahr (20-9) that he incorporated aspects of the Gladiator offense into his, figuring the more his team saw it in practice, the better prepared they would be with the title on the line.

They were very prepared.

“If we had lost this game,” said Nicole Erickson, who had 19 points and a game-high five assists, “it wouldn’t have been the coaches’ fault.”

No, the coaches were taking no chances. They brought in some freshman and sophomore boys for three days last week and had them run against the varsity girls.

“Playing against the boys gave us more confidence,” said guard Susan Rhodabarger, who had five rebounds and three assists. “If we can handle it against the boys, we shouldn’t have a problem (with Gahr).”

Brea-Olinda came out strong with Lee Moulin and Erickson making three-point baskets. An eight-point run made it 14-3. The quarter ended with the Ladycats leading, 18-6, and they held a 36-18 halftime advantage. The key numbers: a 24-12 rebounding edge, while holding Gahr to 7-of-26 shooting (27%), a figure that would improve by only 1% in the second half.

Overall, Brea-Olinda held a 44-34 rebounding edge. The Ladycats were 23 of 57 from the field (40%).

After the game, Trakh said he is considering a move to Division I next year. He should have the team to do it--he started four juniors and a sophomore, and the top nine players return.

“(Trakh) can pretty much go to any level he wants,” Gahr Coach Tom Pryor said. “I think he can compete at any one of the levels, I-A, I-AA. I don’t know if anyone could have beaten them today.”

Erickson, who has won two state titles, said this championship was special because this was their team, not Jody Anton’s or Katie Bauer’s, seniors last year.

Colleen Hudson led the Ladycats with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Sarah Beckley and sophomore starter Moulin had 11 points and six rebounds apiece.

Trakh praised Moulin’s performance in helping shut down Gahr’s offense. The Gladiator starters averaged 51 points--they scored 30. Shannon Gale, who averaged 15 points, was held to one against Brea-Olinda’s 2-3 zone defense. And offensive rebounds were virtually nonexistent. Gahr didn’t have a field goal in the fourth quarter.

“We wanted to take the baseline away from them,” Trakh said. “We wanted to force them out to the wing. We figured if we could keep them from generating points off put-backs against the zone, we were going to be in good shape.”

The 36-point margin of victory was the closest of any of Brea-Olinda’s four playoff games.

“We didn’t know how the kids were going to react (this season with no senior leadership), but Nicole stepped up--Colleen, Sarah (Beckley), Lee Moulin--they all stepped up,” Trakh said. “We challenged them to carry on the tradition, and they stepped up. I’m totally happy. We might not win the state championship, but the fact these kids won the CIF championship makes me very happy and mildly surprised because I didn’t know if we could get here.”

* COUGARS FALL

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